Zhang Ziyi declared "actress of the decade" by CineAsia
Whatever you think of her acting, Zhang Ziyi has without question been the most visible thespian to break out of China for the last ten years and now, CineAsia is recognizing that by naming her the "actress of the decade".
Back in 1999, the young dan actress was given the Star of Tomorrow award by CineAsia (an annual regional film trade show) and the award couldn't have been more spot on - her international career from that point onwards has been nothing but an upward trajectory.
Her break out role came the very next year in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She continued her successful career with star turns in Memoirs of a Geisha, House of Flying Daggers, and Wong Kar Wai's 2046 for which she won the HK Film award for. Zhang is said to be currently working on another English-language film slated for 2011 - a retelling of the classic Chinese story, Hua Mulan.
Sharon Stone on the Sichuan earthquake and karma; Zhang Ziyi pissed off
Has Sharon Stone been drinking too much lately? You be the judge. Here's what she said on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival when asked about the earthquake that has devastated the Sichuan Province:
Well you know it was very interesting because at first, you know, I am not happy about the ways the Chinese were treating the Tibetans because I don’t think anyone should be unkind to anyone else. And so I have been very concerned about how to think and what to do about that because I don’t like THAT.
And I had been this, you know, concerned about, oh how should we deal with the Olympics because they are not being nice to the Dalai Lama, who is a good friend of mine.
And all these earthquake and stuff happened and I thought: IS THAT KARMA... when you are not nice that bad things happen to you?
And then I got a letter, from the Tibetan Foundation that they want to go and be helpful. And that made me cry. And they ask me if I would write a quote about that and I said, “I would.” And it was a big lesson to me, that some times you have to learn to put your head down and be of service even to people who are not nice to you. And that’s a big lesson for me... [Transcript from Speak4China]
Meanwhile, Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) says she's been outraged by all the ignorance of the quake in China going on at Cannes, and has taken it upon herself to make a pamphlet about the earthquake to show foreigners, apart from donating $144,000 to earthquake relief. She told the AP:
"I was as angry as a madwoman. I said, 'Are you idiots? You are well-dressed people who look like you identify with society, but you don't know what's going on on planet Earth.' It's incredible!"
Chinese art of reveling in another's pain
By Huang Hung (China Daily)
I have always been a fan of Zhang Ziyi. She is beautiful, hardworking and talented. However, her reputation has been tarnished by a series of scandals which has unraveled in the public eye in the past six weeks. What we see is a real life drama of power, greed and sex that is in everyway as tantalizing as Dallas, and better.
I have always been curious about the German word schadenfreude which is such a perfect translation of a Chinese proverb - xing zai le huo (幸灾乐祸). Kind of funny how only the Germans and Chinese have been able to nail down that nasty sentiment in their respective languages. The fall of Zhang is nothing less than a schadenfreude fest for the press, the public and whoever it is that wants to see her fall.
It all started with "Ink Gate". Apparently, some goons showed up at the Park Hyatt residence in Beijing late last December and splashed black ink all over an OMEGA ad billboard which featured Zhang. This was a totally planned act, since someone actually notified the press beforehand so that the paparazzi could get the photos and spread the word around. As a result, it was all over the Chinese Internet. Speculation was rife as to who was behind Ink Gate.
As diligent entertainment reporters dug deeper and deeper, they came up with a Beijing socialite, a mistress with an illegitimate son of a certain "Mr Big", and a former confidant of the actress. As the rumors spread, a Miss Zhao actually came clean with the press, as the socialite with her version of the story.
According to Zhao, she introduced Zhang to a tycoon, who became obsessed with the actress and gave her 200 million yuan ($25 million) in jewels as gifts. Zhao claims the tycoon's upset wife was the one behind the ink splashing.
The rest was unsaid but perfectly understood.
The press bought her story hook, line and sinker. Without any verification, everyone printed the story as if it was the truth.
Another version claims that Wendy Deng, aka Mrs Murdoch, is the one behind Ink Gate. This version says that the actress actually caused a serious rift between Mr and Mrs M. Most people thought this story was pure speculation until news came out that Zhang will no longer co-produce with Mrs Murdoch or star in the film Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. The official announcement, by the production team and the actress herself, seems to lend credibility to speculation of a serious spat between the two former girlfriends.
The Chinese press had a field day; Zhang's reputation in Hollywood has always received mixed reviews in China and earned her the nickname "International Zhang". Somehow, the Chinese public does not see her success as some kind of triumph of Chinese soft power, but rather, they see her as someone who drifted too far away from home.
The truth is Zhang was very close to both Zhao and Wendy Murdoch, and there are plenty of press photos to prove it. They are the beautiful, rich and famous girls that the public love to hate. So these scandals probably sold so many newspapers that it would have brought a smile to Murdoch's face, if only his wife was not in the mist of it all. The whole thing is some kind of Chinese real life replay of "gossip girl" + "dirt".
But last week, things turned ugly for Zhang. The press decided to bring her down by digging into her charity projects. There seem to be discrepancies of what she claimed to have donated and the actual amount transferred. There are also questions about overseas charity funds which supposedly never reached their designated projects. This has led to a campaign of public scrutiny of charity projects by entertainment stars in China. Now, criminal charges of fraud are flying in the air.
So, as China's best-known actress bites the dust, the press and public seem to be totally enjoying her demise. Schadenfreude - we so know how to do it, and do it well.
Huang Hung is an opinionator on arts, lifestyle and showbiz.
Student in a secondary school affiliated with the University of Beijing Dance from the age of 11 years, Zhang continued his training at the prestigious Central School of Drama in Beijing. In 1998, while he still has one year of study, she starts on the big screen in The Road Home by Zhang Yimou , Silver Bear and the Ecumenical Jury Prize Berlin Film Festival 2000. It is however, a few months later that the actress reveals in the eyes of the world in Tiger, Hidden Dragon ofAng Lee (2000) in which she plays a fearless warrior with numerous international awards to boot.
Acquired his passport to Hollywood, Zhang Ziyi from the United States in 2001 to embody the evil of Rush Hour 2 alongside his compatriot Jackie Chan , before returning to China in The Legend of Zu 2 of Tsui Hark and the historical drama and epic Musa, the Desert Princess of Korean Kim Sung-Soo . New wu xian pian, traditional movie swords, and new fighting in Hero which marks his reunion with Zhang Yimou and for which she worked alongside Jet Li , Maggie Cheung ,Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Donnie Yen . Filmed in 2002, the film was released in September 2003 in France, some months after the presentation in Cannes competition for Purple Butterfly by Lou Ye where Zhang Ziyi plays a Chinese resistance to the invading Japanese in the 30s. The same year she turns under the direction of Wong Kar Wai in 2046 and found Zhang Yimou on the set ofFlying Daggers . At 25, the young woman stands out as one of the biggest stars of Asian cinema, internationally renowned: People Magazine elected him in 2001 as "one of the most beautiful women in the world."
She continues to head an American career and a career in Asian films. If she is the heroine of Princess Raccoon veteran Japanese Seijun Suzuki , it appears especially in 2005 in Memoirs of a Geisha , the American adaptation of a bestseller, in which Zhang Ziyi takes the top billing alongside of Gong Li .
Zhang Ziyi was born on February 9, 1979, to an economist and kindergarten teacher in Beijing, China. Her parents are Zhang Yuanxiao and Li Zhousheng. With her older brother Zhang Zinan, Ziyi was raised in a metropolitan, blue-collar part of Beijing.
Zhang Ziyi has been interested in dancing and gymnastics since she was a young child. At age 8, she started dancing at the Youth Palace in the Xuan Wu District, Beijing. Graceful Ziyi then attended the Beijing Dancing College at age 11 and enrolled at the Beijing Dancing Academy by age 15. Her excellence in dancing handed her several awards, including one from the National Young Dancer competition. Despite her accomplishments in dancing, Ziyi, who idolized Chinese actress Gong Li, eventually turned to acting and studied at the China Central Drama Academy in Beijing, China.
Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi received rave reviews after portraying passionate heroine Jen Yu/Jiao Long in Ang Lee’s highly praised Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000, also starring Michelle Yeoh). Later gaining more recognition while starring in the 2001 film Rush Hour 2 with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, Zhang Ziyi also played roles in such recent films as House of Flying Daggers, 2046, Jasmine and Operetta tanuki gotten.
“In China, we don’t consider someone truly beautiful until we have known them for a long time and we know what’s underneath the skin.” Zhang Ziyi
5′ 5″ inch tall Zhang Ziyi has been listed as one of the 25 Hottest Stars Under 25 by Teen People Magazine twice (2001 and 2002). On a more personal note, one of Time Magazine’s World’s 100 Most Influential People, Zhang Ziyi has been reportedly linked to film director Zhang Yimou (Ziyi’s first film The Road Home creator).
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